Rubio Speaks With El Nuevo Día
Press Release
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) spoke with El Nuevo Día about Puerto Rico's statehood. In 2018, following the introduction of the Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 by Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón Senator Rubio said:
"I support the right of our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico to seek admission to the union as a state. I will continue working on our strategy of building support in the Senate and creating the conditions necessary to achieve the 60 votes needed for success."
Puerto Rico's Status
"There is a great difference between statehood for Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, for historical reasons. The country's founding fathers did not want Washington D.C. to be a state, they didn't want the home of the federal government to have influence as a state. So that is a very different situation from Puerto Rico's.
"I do not agree with anyone who says that this [Puerto Rico's admission as a state] automatically guarantees Puerto Rico will elect a Democrat. Third, there is a difference between a referendum or plebiscite in Puerto Rico. I do not have an opinion on that, that is a local matter and must be decided by the people of Puerto Rico through their elected representatives. ...
"What I have said is that currently, the conditions to support that vote in the Senate don't exist. But that does not mean that it will be a permanent thing. Like everything in life, opinions change, with new information and new facts. It is important that if that's what the people of Puerto Rico decide, ask to be a state, then we advocate for that position. And I think it would help a lot to be able to say, look, Puerto Rico is recovering economically. Even more, it's an example of how free enterprise can help through some of the examples we've discussed in this interview.
"So it is a subject that must be worked on. It is not something that will occur from one day to the other but I think it is important to be honest: today, on May 27th, 2020, there are not votes in the Senate for that. That does not have to be a permanent reality, that can change and the opinions of my colleagues can be changed. What I want to avoid is that colleagues be strongly against Puerto Rico's statehood and then it is impossible to change their minds in the future. But I believe that the possibility of changing opinions exists. That's what politics is about, that's what debates are based on. So we have debates. I've seen people change their minds in the past but it's going to take time.
"But that is very different from what the people of Puerto Rico decide to do through their plebiscite. That is a matter for the people to decide."
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